Tiffany Haas as Glinda and Christine Dwyer as Elphaba are the main cast of Wicked in Durham, NC. Dwyer has already played the “Wicked” witch as an understudy.

In a phone interview with The Herald-Sun, producer David Stone said new cast members are really good at making the roles their own. They have to sing certain songs, say certain words and follow precise staging, he said, “but within that, we encourage them to have their own take. They’re not cookie cutter roles.”

Stone makes sure to see each company’s performance. He’s in New York City so he sees those shows more often, but also goes to London and the tours three or four times a year. He saw this cast in Fort Myers, Fla. Like audiences, Stone gets something different out of each performance. Initially, he connected to the friendship between Glinda and Elphaba, and on stage, was delighted by the lighting and production.

“It’s Oz turned on its head,” Stone said. Other times he notices the political aspect more.

“Audiences come more than once because they see new things in it,” he said, beyond new actors. “They see different sides of the story,” he said, like friendship, wizard back story, politics and judging people. There are so many things in “Wicked,” he said, the experience is different depending on the day someone sees it. “I think it’s rich,” Stone said.

The producer, too, has favorite lyrics from the musical, in particular from “For Good,” the witches’ duet about changing for the better and for good.

“It’s not complicatedly written, but a profound idea,” Stone said.

Whether audiences are returning to “Wicked” or seeing it for the first time, the musical no longer needs an introduction. They dropped the line about “So much happened before Dorothy dropped in.”

Wicked musical will have day-of-performance lotteries for a limited number of orchestra seats. Two and a half hours before curtain, people who bring their photo ID to the DPAC Ticket Center will have their names placed in a lottery drum; 30 minutes later, names will be drawn for orchestra seats at $25 each, cash only. Two-ticket limit.